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We have not talked about Asustor a complete lot on this website, however that is fortunately altering. The Taiwanese producer has a robust portfolio of NAS enclosures tailor-made for dwelling and workplace makes use of, and its merchandise mix highly effective {hardware} with a sexy feature-set.
The AS6604T serves as an incredible introduction for the model. The 4-bay NAS made its debut a number of years in the past, and continues to be top-of-the-line NAS for dwelling customers. So let’s check out what you are getting right here, and whether or not you need to think about the AS6604T in 2022.
Asustor Lockerstor AS6604T: Pricing and availability
Asustor unveiled the Lockerstor AS6604T again in June 2020 for $599, and the NAS continues to be top-of-the-line choices within the 4-bay class. NAS enclosures have an extended shelf life, and the {hardware} on supply with the AS6604T holds up simply nice in 2022.
The AS6604T is offered on Amazon, Newegg, B&H, and different main retailers within the U.S. for $554, and you may get your fingers on the NAS within the UK for £540 ($677). Like different Asustor enclosures, the AS6604T comes with a three-year guarantee as commonplace.
Asustor Lockerstor AS6604T: Design and options
The AS6604T is the primary Asustor NAS I am utilizing, and the design is broadly in keeping with what you get on this class. There are 4 drive bays on the entrance, and these simply slide out. You’ll be able to set up 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives inside the enclosure, but it surely is not tool-less — you’ll have to use the bundled screws.
Set up is not as simple for the M.2 slots both; they’re positioned inside the chassis and never housed inside a detachable facet panel, so you have to to seize a screwdriver and take away the lid to entry the M.2 slots. What I do like is the two-line display screen that is positioned on the entrance. The display screen servers as a dashboard and provides you an summary of the NAS’s standing, and turns out to be useful in every day use. You’ll be able to navigate the choices through the buttons on the facet, and it’s an attention-grabbing addition.
Elsewhere, you will discover a USB 3.0 port on the entrance, and there are standing LEDs on every of the drive bays and an total system LED indicator that sits under the ability button. There are two standing indicators for the twin Ethernet ports as properly. Around the again, you get twin 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports, twin USB 3.0 ports, and there is additionally an HDMI 2.0a port — very helpful for connecting the enclosure on to a TV or monitor.
There’s a big 120mm fan that cools the NAS successfully, and it would not get audible even underneath load. The construct high quality is among the many greatest you will discover on this class, and the AS6604T has 4 rubber toes on the backside to make sure it stays planted on a floor. Asustor hasn’t strayed too removed from standard design right here, and the result’s that the AS6604T simply blends into the background.
Asustor Lockerstor AS6604T: Efficiency
Like different 4-bay enclosures on this class, the AS6604T is powered by Intel’s Gemini Lake-based Celeron J4125, that includes 4 cores at 2.0GHz that go as much as 2.7GHz in turbo. The J4125 is a stalwart for storage enclosures, and I’ve used a number of merchandise during the last two years that featured this design.
The AS6604T is not in need of energy, and the {hardware} you are getting right here is ideally fitted to most dwelling use circumstances, together with media streaming over Plex, backing up pictures and different knowledge, and operating self-hosted alternate options to mainstream streaming providers. The NAS comes with 4GB of DDR4 RAM put in out of the field, and there is one other SO-DIMM slot positioned on the again that allows you to double the reminiscence to 8GB must you want it.
There is a native Plex Media Server shopper out there for set up, and it takes underneath 5 minutes to set it up. I did not see any points with Plex streaming to an Android TV and an iPad, and the AS6604T dealt with 4K recordsdata with excessive bitrate with out breaking a sweat. Transcoding these recordsdata for playback on shopper units is resource-intensive, however within the month that I used the NAS, I did not have any issues streaming locally-stored media to a slew of units round the home.
The twin 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports on the again may be bridged through Hyperlink Aggregation, and that turns out to be useful should you refill the AS6604T with 2.5-inch SSDs. I used 4 6TB Seagate IronWolf NAS drives that Asustor despatched over with the unit, and I routinely hit as much as 220MB/s for file transfers.
As a lot as I might have preferred to see the power so as to add a 10GbE port to the NAS through a PCIe slot, most customers shall be greater than happy with the twin 2.5GbE slots out there right here. And the identical goes for the extent of efficiency on supply — whether or not it is streaming 4K content material over Plex, internet hosting your individual note-taking service, VPN server, or Docker containers.
Asustor Lockerstor AS6604T: Software program
The AS6604T runs Asustor Knowledge Grasp (ADM) out of the field, and set up takes underneath ten minutes. You’ll be able to arrange a reputation for the server, create a password to log in to the UI, and watch for ADM to put in the most recent firmware. As soon as it is booted into the house web page, you will see a listing of providers which are put in out of the field.
ADM contains its personal suite of providers for backing up knowledge, internet hosting your pictures on the NAS, file and storage administration, person entry, and way more. Oft-used utilities like Rsync are put in out of the field, and there is an EZ-Join possibility that means that you can entry the NAS even if you’re outdoors your house community.
For those who’re taken with backing up pictures from varied units, you will have to put in Picture Gallery on the NAS and use AiFoto in your telephone to again up pictures robotically. Asustor has wonderful choices for video and audio streaming, internet hosting your individual mail server, productiveness suite, VPN server, or internet looking.
The AS6604T shines with regards to surveillance as properly due to the built-in HDMI port — supplying you with the power to attach it on to a TV or monitor — and 4 free digital camera licenses. ADM’s Surveillance Middle offers you exhaustive management over safety cameras, and with the power to work with 40 cameras, it’s ideally fitted to small companies.
What I like probably the most about ADM is that it has an in depth suite of self-hosted providers out there for set up. I configured Airsonic, Calibre-Net, Dwelling Assistant, RetroArch, and Spotify in underneath ten minutes, and it took me considerably longer than that to get most of those providers arrange on my DS1520+ final yr.
Whereas the UI wants extra polish, I undoubtedly just like the sheer quantity of options on supply right here. Lastly, Asustor was in information lately for ransomware assaults that focused its NAS enclosures, and the model has taken measures to safeguard customers. ADM now reveals you a safety guidelines of issues you are able to do do safeguard your enclosure, and the OS itself has been up to date to thwart such ransomware assaults sooner or later.
Asustor Lockerstor AS6604T: The competitors
For those who like what you see with the AS6604T however completely want a PCIe slot, there’s excellent news. Asustor launched Gen2 fashions within the Lockerstor collection lately, and the AS6704T comes with a number of attractive updates: you get the Intel N5105 chip, a PCIe slot, USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 ports, and the power so as to add as much as 16GB of reminiscence. The AS6704T retains the identical design and has an identical software program feature-set, and should you want the extras, you will should pay $609.
TerraMaster’s F4-423 is a dependable different as properly should you’re in search of a 4-bay enclosure with 2.5GbE networking. TerraMaster’s software program efforts are lackluster, however the change to the TOS 5.0 interface has added numerous polish and launched new options to the NAS. And when it comes to {hardware}, you get Intel’s N5105, 4GB of RAM out of the field, and the power so as to add as much as 80TB of storage.
Asustor Lockerstor AS6604T: Do you have to purchase it?
You should purchase this if:
- You want a NAS with twin 2.5GbE connectivity
- You are in search of a 4-bay enclosure that is supreme for Plex streaming
- You need well-designed cell purchasers and loads of software program options
- You want a NAS for establishing a surveillance digital camera community
You should not purchase this if:
- You need the power to improve to 10GbE
- You are in search of the most recent {hardware}
Asustor nailed the fundamentals with the AS6604T. The NAS has all of the connectivity choices you need, together with two 2.5GbE that may be linked collectively, and the 4 drive bays imply you possibly can add as much as 64TB of storage in whole. There’s additionally the power to increase storage through exterior bays, and the Intel J4125 has greater than sufficient energy out there for demanding duties.
The 4GB of put in RAM is greater than sufficient as properly, and also you get the choice to increase it. The NAS excels as a Plex media server and would not have any points with streaming 4K content material to a various slate of units, and it holds up simply as properly for operating self-hosted providers. ADM has numerous configurability and a smorgasbord of utilities to put in, and what it lacks in polish it greater than makes up with a robust feature-set.
Two years after its introduction, the AS6604T continues to be a strong possibility if you’d like a 4-bay enclosure with 2.5GbE connectivity.
Asustor Lockerstor AS6604T
With 4 drive bays, highly effective {hardware}, and a wide selection of helpful software program options, the AS6604T has every thing you are in search of in a high-end 4-bay NAS enclosure. With twin 2.5GbE networking, this NAS will keep related for a number of years.
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